Testing machine

ABSTRACT

A device for the application and recording of written tests such as word or idea association; question and answer; evocative or suggestive tests; aptitude etc. Pre-printed tests on paper rolls are inserted into the machine and the tests sequentially appear in a slot or window which remains open for a predetermined length of time during which an answer may be written on the test paper. A timer control adjusts the timing for the slot opening and closing. A control button allows an examinee to move on to the next question should he be able to reply in less than the alloted time and the length of time taken to reply is automatically recorded on the test paper. An attachment is available for ink blot or other visual tests.

Perrella et al.

451 *July 3,1973

TESTING MACHINE Inventors: Guido Perrella,'Montreal, Quebec;

Robert Genest, Outremont, Quebec, both of Canada Testograph Limited,Lachine, Quebec, Canada Assignee:

Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Mar. 28,1989, has been disclaimed.

Filed: Dec. 16,1970

Appl. No.: 98,630

Foreign Application Priority Data May 21, 1970 Canada 083,305

US. Cl. 35/22 R, 35/35, 35/48 Int. Cl. G09b 19/00 Field of Search 35/9,22, 35 B, 48

l2/l967 Hvale et al. 35/35 B 2/1962 Joslow 35/35 B PrimaryExaminer-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-J. H. WolffAttorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [5 7 ABSTRACT A device for theapplication and recording of written tests such as word or ideaassociation; question and answer; evocative or suggestive tests;aptitude etc. Preprinted tests on paper rolls are inserted into themachine and the tests sequentially appear in a slot or window whichremains open for a predetermined length of time during which an answermay be written on the test paper. A timer control adjusts the timing forthe slot opening and closing. A control button allows an examinee tomove on to the next question should he be able to reply in less than thealloted time and the length of time taken to reply is automaticallyrecorded on the test paper. An attachment is available for ink blot orother visual tests.

5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures TESTING MACHINE This invention relates toapparatus for the application and recording of any written tests such asword or idea association; question and answer; aptitude, etc.

The need for examination, investigation and analysis of the humanpersonality from all points of view is increasing every day. A largenumber of excellent tests allow the human behaviour to be explored andestimated but time has always been the handicap to the development ofthe psychological sciences and the evaluation of tests.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,715,784 of Aug. 24, 1955 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,833 ofDec. 8, 1959 provided advances in the field of testing machines and theyincluded structures that possessed prepared questions andpaper forwritten answers thereto, a window revealing the question on the paperand a shutter or blind for closing the window. However, these deviceshad several shortcomings such as continually moving the paper, no meansof automatically timing the examinee, slowly moving shutters and others.These faults resulted in an inability to precisely time the examineeduring the answering period.

Many valuable hours are lost by a test examiner awaiting sometimesinaccurate answers. Group testing does not give the individual andpersonal value of a strict interpretation of results and the re-writingof a test is a non-recoverable loss of time for the examiner. Moreover agood evaluation of the human personality with a valuable interpretationand orientation often requires several different areas of investigation.

In a co-pending application Ser. No. 048,322 filed on Apr. 10, 1969, nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,660,674 important improvements in this art weredisclosed. One basic feature was the provision of a test taking devicewhich would indicate the ability of an examinee in answering one or aseries of questions with a preselected time for each question. Theapparatus was automatic in simultaneous and sequential operations but inanother aspect the examinee had overriding manual control under certaincircumstances, especially with respect to the answering period. Thepresent application discloses a similar machine but with furtherimprovements especially in a marked reduction of parts and theirfunction.

According to a broad aspect of the present invention, apparatus for theapplication and recording of written tests comprises a scalable casingwith a closeable windowtherein, a shutter for opening and closing thewindow, a supply of paper in the casing and having preprinted teststhereon for answering through the window by an examinee, a time controlmechanism for preselecting the length of time that the shutter will stayopen,

7 a control button for closing the shutter prior to the expiration ofthe preselected time period, means for'recording the time taken by an.examinee to answer a question on the paper, means for automaticallyclosing the shutter at the termination of the preselected time period,and a source of energy in. the apparatus for operatingthe same.

The invention will be more readily understood with reference to theaccompanying drawings when anembodiment of the invention is illustratedby way of example in which:

FIG. 1 is a, perspective view of the testing machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine with the cover of the casingremoved to reveal the working parts thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus looking at the left side ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus looking at the right side ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the shutter mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a partial cut-away view of a portion of the shutter shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view through the cover of the apparatus showingthe shutter in longitudinal crosssection;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines 88 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 99 ofFIG. 2; and

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 1010 of FIG. 2.

' cated at 1 includes a casing having a cover member 10,

the cover 10 including a window or slot 12 being open or closed by meansof a movable shutter 14. The cover 10 includes a carrying handle 16 andan actuating crank 18 for operating the apparatus in a manner to.

subsequently be described. The cover also includes a lock 20 whereby theapparatus can be sealed or opened by an examiner.

Looking now at FIG. 2, the cover 10 is hinged to a lower casing 22 bymeans of a continuous piano type hinge 24 and the lower casing 22supports a base 26 formed of cast metal or the like, the base 26 havingleg portions 28 (FIG. 3) secured to the lower casing 22 by recessedbumpers or feet 30 of resilient material and cap screws 32 for passingtherethrough.

A series of parallel shafts are provided within the casing and on thebase and reading from the bottom to the top of FIG. 2, these include apaper supply shaft 34 adapted to freely support a roll of paper 36thereon, the ends of the shaft being held in clips 38 provided on shaftsupport brackets 40 secured to the lower casing 22.

On the base 26, there is provided a shutter shaft 42, a crank shaft 44,a drive shaft 46, a paper drive shaft 48 with a secondary paper driveshaft 50 secured thereto and a paper take-up drum 52. Means forrecording the elapsed time of the test is indicated generally at 94 thistime recording means generally overlying the drive shaft 46.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION A supply of paper 36 is placed on thepaper support shaft 34, this paper having printed thereon a sequentialseries of questions with a space adjacent the question for the examineeto apply written their written answer. Additionally, each section of thepaper having a question and an answering space includes time scale ofany preferred duration but for example a period from 0 to seconds. Thepaper is fed from the. supply shaft 34 along a path shown in FIG. 3which takes it over a paper track or platen 35 which is disposed beneaththe movabeshutter and onto the paper take-up drum 52. The examineerotates the shaft 44 by means of the actuator or crank 18 shown in FIG.1, this action opening the shutter 14 while simultaneously rotating thedrive shaft 46 to load a motor means to be described hereafter; the timefor the test is preset by the examiner and if the examinee should finishhis answer prior to the expiration of the set time, he presses a button11 shown in FIG. 1 which effects closing of the shutter 14 over theanswered question and at the same time marks the expiried time for thetest on the paper 36 by means of the recording mechanism 94. Theexaminee is then free to proceed to the next question. On the otherhand, if the examinee should fail to answer the question during thegiven length of time for the test, at the expiration of that time theshutter will automatically close and the expired time will again bemarked by the recording means 94. When the crank handle 18 is againrotated, the paper will be forwarded onto the drum 52 so that the nextquestion appears in the window 12 when the shutter 14 opens.

Paper Storage and Advance Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 the paper shaft 48is provided with a pair of primary rollers 54 and the secondary shaftwhich is supported on a bracket 56 is provided with a pair of secondaryrollers 58. As shown in FIG. 3, contact is maintained between theprimary and second rollers 54 and 58 and between the secondary rollerand the surface of the paper on the drum 52 by means of a coil spring60. The shaft 48 also includes a paper advance pulley 62 which, whenrotated, allows one-way movement only of the shaft 48 through provisionof a clutch 64.

Crank shaft 44 includes a pulley 66 to which is secured one end of acable 68 having its other end trained around the pulley 62 on the papershaft 48 and terminating at a coil spring 70, held to a cap screw 72 onthe base 26 as shown in FIG. 3. The pulley 66 on the drive shaft 44 hasa dowel pin 74 which is engageable by a pawl 76 secured to the driveshaft 44.

It will be appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 3 that rotation of the crankshaft 44 will effect rotation of the pawl 76 engaging the pin 74 therebyrotating the drive pulley 66 and the paper advance pulley 62 by means ofcable 68. Additionally, rotation is also imparted to the primary rollers54 and thereby to the secondary rollers 58 and finally to the paper onthe surface of the drum 52. This effects rotation of the paper and drawsit from the paper roll 36 on the supply shaft 34. It will be understoodthat the amount of advance of the paper is equal to the spacing thereofof sequential questions with their answer spaces.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper take-up roll 52 has protruding axlepins 78 held in slots of bearing blocks 80 by means of retaining springs82. In order to remove the drum 52, the springs 82 are moved aside andthe drum 52 can be removed with the answered or unanswered questionsthereon.

Elapsed Time Recording Mechanism As shown in FIG. 2, the recordingmechanism 94 in cludes a pin punch 84 secured to a cable 86 which istrained about 4 idler pulleys 88 provided on supports 90. Additionally,cable 86 is trained about a drive pulley 92 mounted on the drive shaft46. It will be appreciated that rotation of the drive pulley 92 willeffect travel of the cable 86 about the idler pulleys 88 and will alsoeffect reciprocal travel of the pin punch 84 across the paper throughprovision of a slot 95 in the shutter platen 35 as shown in FIG. 3. Thepin punch 84 therefore travels left to right of FIG. 2 and whenactuated, will mark a pinhole in a time scale provided on the answerportion of the paper.

A punch actuating member 96 is T-shaped in formation and has a lifterplate underlying the pin punch 84 and it extends the width of therecorded portion of the paper. The lifter 96 is secured by screws to abar 98 that is freely and rotatably mounted to the shutter shaft 42. Bar98, as shown in FIG. 8, overlies a cam wheel 100 mounted on the crankshaft 44. Wheel 100 has a recessed portion 102 which accommodates a tripbar 104 pivoted at one end on the dowel pin 106 and retained against oneside of the recess by a spring 108.

When the examinee has completed his question before the expiration ofthe given time or if the examinee fails to answer the question and theshutter closes, actuation of the crank 18 and rotation of the crankshaft 44 to open the shutter for the next question will, before thepaper is advanced, effect rotation of the cam wheel 100 and the trip 104will raise the bar 98 and lifter 96 which in turn will raise the pinpunch 84 so that it will extend through the slot 94 as shown in FIG. 3to punch a hole in the time scale of the paper.

FIGS. 2 and 9 illustrate means for adjusting the stroke of the paperdrive pulleys 62, 66 and the paper shaft 48 which comprises an adjustingarm 110 which is freely and rotatably mounted on the crank shaft 44 andis positioned adjacent to the pulley 66 so that the dowel pin 74 thereinrests against the upper surface of the adjusting arm 1 10. Base 26 isprovided with a block 112 having a set screw 114 therein which passesthrough the block and engages the underside 1 16 of the adjusting arm110. A dowel pin 118 in the lower part of the block 112 together with aset screw 120 in the terminal end of the arm 110 each serve to retain acoil spring 122 which maintains the arm 110 onto the set screw 114.

It will be understood from FIG. 9 that adjustment of the set screw 114will either raise or lower the arm 110' and reduce or increase thecircumferential travel of the pulley 66 by engaging the dowel pin 74 atvarious points in its circumferential travel. Obviously, lowering.

the arm 110 will increase the circumferential travel of the pin 74 andpulley 66 and thereby increase the stroke of the paper advance.

Shutter Drive Mechanism The shutter 14 as shown in FIG. 1 is normallyclosed and is opened by rotation of the shutter shaft 42 and will stayopen until the expiration of the preset time period or by actuation of abutton by the examinee if he should answer the question prior to theexpiration of time. The shutter structure itself is not illustrated inFIG. 2 for purposes of clarity but FIG. 2 does illustrate the shuttershaft 42 and its relation to the crank shaft 44. The shutter isillustrated in FIGS. 3 to 7 inclusive.

Referring first to FIG. 3, the shutter includes the paper track 35 whichis supported so that its surface is parallel to the underside of thecover 10 by means of fore and aft support legs 124, 126 which aresecured at their lower ends to the base 26 by suitable screws 128. Theterminal side edges 130 of the platen serve as guides for the shutter14, the latter extending beyond the width .of the window or slot 12 asshown in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 5 the shutter 14 has a pair of guidetracks 132 secured to its lower surface at either side thereof. It willbe noted from FIG; 7 that the tracks 132 receive the guides 130 therein.One end of each guide track 132 is detachably connected to a rollerchain 134 which is trained about a chain wheel 136 secured to the lowersurface of the paper support 35 as shown in FIG. 5. The other end ofeach chain 134 is detachably connected to a corresponding chain wheel137 and 138 mounted on the shutter shaft 42 as shown in FIG. 2. Theother ends of the guide tracks 132 are connected to a cable 140 trainedaround idler pulleys 142 provided on the underside of the paper support35. The other end of the cable 140 is detachably connected to one end ofcoil spring 144 of suitable strength which in turn is secured to theunderside of the paper support 35 by means of a bracket 146.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the shutter shaft 42 is mounted for rotation inbearings'l48 and one end of the shaft (the leftend viewed'in FIG. 2) isprovided with a sprocket 150 which is interconnected to a sprocket 152on crank shaft 44 by roller chain 154 as shown in FIG. 3. v

It will be understood from FIGS. 2 and 5 that rotation of the crankshaft 44 and therefore the shutter shaft 42 will cause rotation of thechain wheels 138 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5 whereby the chain134 will draw the guide tracks 132 and the shutter 14 along the guides130 so that the shutter 14 will open the window 12 as shown in FIG. 5.At the expiration of the time period, the shutter shaft 42 will bereleased in a manner subsequently to be described and the coil spring144 shown in FIG. 5 will draw the shutter 14 to its closed position.

Crank Shaft and Associated Mechanism The function of the crank shaft 44is to load the timing mechanism associated with the motor shaft 46; toeffect the paper advance as previously described with reference to thepulleys 62 and 66 and also to effect marking of the paper with the timeof the previous question as already described with reference to the pinpunch 84 and its associated mechanism.

Crank shaft 44 has on its extreme left end shown in FIG. 2 a removablecrank or actuator 18 and the shaft is journalled in bearings 156 and 158of the base member 26. Immediately within the casing 22, the shaft 44 isprovided with a pulley 160 used for actuating auxiliary equipment suchas an ink blot testing machine through a connecting cable 162.

Adjacent the bearing 156, there is provided a stroke limiter 164 whichconsists of a block 166 secured to the shaft 44 by a dowel pin 168 andbeing provided at its outer end with a set screw 170. The base 26 isprovided with a spring member 172 which is adapted to be contacted bythe set screw 170 when the shaft 44 is rotated approximately 180. Theadjustment of the stroke can be made on the set screw 170.

Referring now to the right hand side of the shaft 44 in FIG. 2 and tothe elevational view of thatside as shown in FIG. 4. Beyond the bearing158, shaft 44 carries a trigger member 174, sprocket 176 and a freelyrotatable time setting wheel 178 which would have the time indiciamarked on the surface thereof adjacent each of a plurality of notches180. As shown in FIG. 4, a time setting indicator 182 is provided on theextreme outer end of crank shaft 44 and the indicator 182 can be pulledoutwardly so that its upper tip 184 which normally engages one of thenotches 180 in the wheel 178 can be disengaged therefrom so that thewheel 178 can be moved under the indicator 182 to the desired time.

The sprocket 176 is interconnected to a sprocket 186 on the motor shaft46 through roller chain 190. Sprocket 176 also includes a pin 192projecting from one side thereof, this pin being adapted to engage arecessed portion of the trigger 174 as shown in FIG. 2 for actuating thesame. As shown in FIG. 4, the trigger 174 is maintained in theillustrated position of that Figure by a coil spring 194 connected tothe trigger end. As previously mentioned, the shutter 14 is closedeither automatically at the end of the time period or is closed manuallyby the examinee if he finishes the question prior to the timeexpiration. The closing in either instance is effected by the trigger174 under the influence of the sprocket pin 192 (automatic) or by thebutton 11 (manual) and by an extension rod 196 thereof shown in FIG. 5.As shown in FIG. 4, the button 11 protrudes through an aperture in thecover 10 and is secured to a spring 197 that is fastened at one end tothe underside of the cover 10 and which is bent at the other end to formthe rod 196. The spring 197 maintains the button 11 in the positionillustrated in FIG. 4 and specifically against the pad or rest 198 ofresilient material secured to the underside of the cover 10 as shown.The terminal end of the rod 196 is adapted to engage slot 200 in thetrigger 174 when the button 11 is depressed by the examinee.

The terminal ends of the shutter shaft 42 is provided with a ratchetwheel 202, a ratchet arm rotatably secured to the hub of the ratchet202, the arm 204 carrying a ratchet pawl 206 which is pivoted to the arm204 at 208. A coil spring 210 maintains the pawl 206 in engagement withthe teeth of the ratchet wheel 202.

It will be understood from FIG. 2 that rotation of the crank 18 and thecrank shaft 44 also effects rotation of the motor shaft 46 throughsprockets 176, 186 and chain 190 and also effects rotation of theshutter shaft 42 through the sprockets 150, 152 and chain 154. When theshutter shaft 42 is rotated in this manner, the shutter 14 is drawn tothe open position as previously described and the ratchet pawl 206 byengaging the teeth of the ratchet 202, prevents reverse rotation of theshutter shaft 42 and therefore also prevents rotation of its associatedchain wheels 137, 138 and movement of the mechanism shown in FIG. 5. I

It will be subsequently described that as the motor shaft 46 runs outwith the expiration of the alloted time period, it will rotate thesprocket 176 on crank shaft 144 and its associated pin 192 which willengage the trigger 174 so that its other terminal end will be swungupwardly to strike the free end of the pawl 206 thereby swinging thelatter about its pivot point 208 so that the pawl 206 is released fromthe teeth of the ratchet 202 The springs 144 (FIG. 5) then draw theshutter 14 closed and in so doing draw the chains 134 and the wheels137, 138 to their previous position. Similar action takes place if theexaminee should finish the question before expiration of the time periodand depresses the button 11 as shown in FIG. 4. The rod 196 by engagingslot 200 in trigger 174 will also effect pivoting of the latter todisengage the pawl 206 from the ratchet 202.

Motor Shaft and Associated Mechanism The motor shaft 46 transmits powerto operate the apparatus after the shutter had been opened by rota- 7tion of the crank 18. This power is retained in a spring motor 212mounted on the base 29 by a support 214 shown in FIG. 3. The leftterminal end of shaft 46 is connected to that spring while the right endof the shaft 46 supports a time indicator wheel 216 through a clutch 218as shown. Gear 220 serves to operate an idler shaft'222 (shown in moredetail in FIG. 10). This shaft carrying the gear 224 and clock wheel226. Note also FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the motor shaft 46 is mountedin bearings 228 and 230, the latter also supporting an escapementmechanism 232 which utilizes a pair of pins 234 operating in a pendulumfashion on the teeth of the clock wheel 226.

As shown in FIG. 2 the time indicator wheel 216 has indicia 236 markedon the surface thereof which will be indicated to the testee through awindow 9 in the cover as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates that the spring motor 212 is wound by rotation of thehandle 18, crank shaft 44, sprockets 176-186 and rotation of motor shaft46. As shown in FIG. 5, a time stopper in the form of a brake rod 240 issecured to the lower surface of one of the shutter guides 132 and thelower end of the brake 240 is adapted to engage the teeth of the clockwheel 226. As the crank 18 is rotated and the shutter is drawnopen, thebrake 240 is pulley away from the surface of clock wheel 226, the motor212 is wound and the alloted time set on the wheel 178 begins to be paidout by the pendulum apparatus of the escapement 232.

Method of Operation The examiner unlocks the cover 10 and presets thetime for the question and answers printed on the paper 36. This isaccomplished by axially withdrawing the time setting indicator 184 androtating the'wheel 178 until the desired time, say 60 seconds, is turnedup and the indicator 184 is returned axially so that it engages the 60second notch. It will be appreciated that rotation of the wheel 178 alsorotates the sprocket 176 and its pin 192 and further rotates thesprocket 186 and the time indicator wheel 216 so that the 60 secondlimit will appear in the window 9. With the apparatus in the FIG. 2position, the cover is closed and locked by the lock 20.

When told to proceed, the examinee rotates handle 18 which effectsopening of the shutter via the chain wheels 137, 138; advances the paperby rotation of the pulleys 62, 66 through cable 68; and winds the springmotor 212 through rotation of the motor shaft 46. It should be notedfrom FIG. 2 that when moving the wheel 178 to set the tests time, thesprocket 176 and sprocket 192 are moved counterclockwise in FIG. 4 sothat the pin 192 is moved away from the trigger 174. That is, theshorter the time for the tests, the closer the pin 192 will be to thetrigger 174. Conversely if the time is set for 120 seconds then the pin192 will be a substantially circumferential extent from the trigger 174.

As the shutter 14 is opened, the examinee views the question and beginsto prepare his answer in the provided space. If he finishes the questionto his satisfaction before the expiration of the 60 second time, hepresses the button 11 so that its extension 196 trips the trigger 174thereby releasing the shutter via the pawl 206 and ratchet wheel 202 sothat the shutter 14 closes. Simultaneously, the brake 240 on the lowerpart of the shutter (FIG. engages the excapement clock wheel to preventfurther rotation of the shaft 46 by the spring motor 12.

If the 60 second alloted test time should run out prior to thecompletion of the question by the examinee, it will do so by rotation ofthe shaft 46 via the escapement mechanism 232 which allows rotation alsoof the time indicator wheel 216 and the sprockets 186, 176 and chain190. As sprocket 176 is rotated and the time limit is reached, the pin192 is brought around to the point where it contacts the trigger 174 torelease the shutter to its closed position.

The examinee then moves on to the next question whether he has manuallyclosed the shutter or whether it has been done automatically. As herotates the handle 18. for the second question, a brake 240 (FIG. 5) ispulled away from the clock wheel 226 and rotation of the crank shaft 44also turns the cam wheel (FIG. 8) to effect marking of the paper by thecam 104 operating the lever 98 and the pin punch 84.

Means are also provided for indicating to the Examiner an attempt ofcheating the device by the Examinee. Referring to FIG. 4, a cheatindicator 242 has a curved, color-coded edge 244 adapted to appear in awindow 246 of the cover 10. Indicator 242 is biased against pin stops248, 250 by a spring 252 and includes a depending pin 254.

If the time runs out on the examinee and he manually holds open theshutter 14 against spring 144, the brake 240 will be unable to engagethe clock gear 226 to stop the motor shaft 46. As a result, pin 192 onsprocket 176 will carry the trigger 174 a greater circumferentialdistance so that its end 175 will engage pin 254 to pivot the indicator242 to a cheat position where the coded surface will show through thewindow 246.

Although the embodiment described utilizes a spring for operative power,it is within the scope of the invention to effect such operation byelectrical means either from wall outlets or from battery power.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Apparatus for the application and recording of written testscomprising a base structure with a lockable cover thereon, a window insaid casing to reveal an examination question therein and a shutterassembly for opening or closing said window; said base structuresupporting a. a plurality of shafts mounted in spaced parallelrelationship and including i) a paper supply shaft adjacent one end ofsaid base structure for supporting a supply of paper having printedquestions thereon ii) a shutter drive shaft for actuating said shutterassembly iii) a paper drive shaft and a paper storage assembly remotefrom and parallel to the paper supply and adjacent the other end of thebase for drawing said paper beneath said window and storing the same;iv) a motor shaft and motor means thereon for closing said shutter;andv) a crank shaft having means interconnecting the same with the shuttershaft, motor shaft and paper drive shaft; b. a time control mechanismfor preselecting the time that the shutter stays open and being operatedby said motor means;

c. control means for closing the shutter prior to the expiration of thepreselected time period;

d. elapsed time recording means associated with said motor shaft andshutter shaft for marking directly onto said paper transverse to itsline of travel;

e. said paper drive shaft and storage assembly comprising a papertake-up and storage drum adjacent and spaced from said paper driveshaft, a pair of primary rollers mounted on the paper drive shaft forrotation therewith; and a pair of secondary rollers in surface contactwith the primary rollers and the storage drum whereby rotation of saidcrank shaft and the paper drive shaft is transmitted to the storage drumto draw said paper from the supply roll and beneath said window.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said elapsed timerecording means comprises:

a. a plurality of idler pulleys spaced adjacent said motor shaft;

b. a drive pulley on said motor shaft;

c. a cable trained about said drive and idle pulleys;

d. a pin punch carried on said cable for reciprocation therebytransverse to the path of travel of the paper, and

e. means underlying said pin punch for moving the latter upwardlywhereby the pin will mark said paper comprising a bar member having ahead portion underlying said punch throughout its path of travel, saidbar having a leg portion pivotally mounted on said shutter shaft, and acam wheel on said crankshaft and supporting said leg portion wherebyrotation of said crankshaft and cam wheel effect raising of the pinpunch to mark said paper.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said shutter is normallyclosed and the shutter assembly includes a paper support extendingbeneath said window and v spaced from the underside of the casing; guidetracks means to keepQsaid shutter open, comprising a ratchet.

wheel on the end of said shutter shaft, a ratchet arm and pawl pivotallymounted thereon and spring means maintaining the pawl in engagement withthe ratchet wheel, thereby preventing reverse rotation of the shuttershaft.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 including motor means for closing theshutter comprises:

a. a trigger member for releasing said pawl whereby said shutter shaftwill reverse rotate to close said shutter;

b. an actuating pin for said trigger and operated by rotation of saidmotor shaft for automatically triggering said pawl;

c. a central button for manually actuating the trigger by an examineeprior to the expiration of the time period;

d. a spring motor on said motor shaft for rotating the same;

e. an escapement mechanism for controlling rotation of the motor shaftunder influence of the spring motor; and

f. a time indicator mounted on the end of said motor shaft.

1. Apparatus for the application and recording of written testscomprising a base structure with a lockable cover thereon, a window insaid casing to reveal an examination question therein and a shutterassembly for opening or closing said window; said base structuresupporting a. a plurality of shafts mounted in spaced parallelrelationship and including i) a paper supply shaft adjacent one end ofsaid base structure for supporting a supply of paper having printedquestions thereon ii) a shutter drive shaft for actuating said shutterassembly iii) a paper drive shaft and a paper storage assembly remotefrom and parallel to the paper supply and adjacent the other end of thebase for drawing said paper beneath said window and storing the same;iv) a motor shaft and motor means thereon for closing said shutter; andv) a crank shaft having means interconnecting the same with the shuttershaft, motor shaft and paper drive shaft; b. a time control mechanismfor preselecting the time that the shutter stays open and being operatedby said motor means; c. control means for closing the shutter prior tothe expiration of the preselected time period; d. elapsed time recordingmeans associated with said motor shaft and shutter shaft for markingdirectly onto said paper transverse to its line of travel; e. said paperdrive shaft and storage assembly comprising a paper take-up and storagedrum adjacent and spaced from said paper drive shaft, a pair of primaryrollers mounted on the paper drive shaft for rotation therewith; and apair of secondary rollers in surface contact with the primary rollersand the storage drum whereby rotation of said crank shaft and the paperdrive shaft is transmitted to the storage drum to draw said paper fromthe supply roll and beneath said window.
 2. The apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein said elapsed time recording means comprises: a. aplurality of idler pulleys spaced adjacent said motor shaft; b. a drivepulley on said motor shaft; c. a cable trained about said drive and idlepulleys; d. a pin punch carried on said cable for reciprocation therebytransverse to the path of travel of the paper, and e. means underlyingsaid pin punch for moving the latter upwardly whereby the pin will marksaid paper comprising a bar member having a head portion underlying saidpunch throughout its path of travel, said bar having a leg portionpivotally mounted on said shutter shaft, and a cam wheel on saidcrankshaft and supporting said leg portion whereby rotation of saidcrankshaft and cam wheel effect raising of the pin punch to mark saidpaper.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said shutter isnormally closed and the shutter assembly includes a paper supportextending beneath said window and spaced from the underside of thecasing; guide tracks mounted along the sides of said support andmounting the shutter therebetween; spring means urging said guides andshutter to a closed position; a sprocket on either end of said shuttershaft and means interconnecting said guides and shutter to saidsprockets so that, upon rotation of said crankshaft, the shutter shaftand sprockets are rotated to draw said shutter open.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 3 including means to keep said shutter open,comprising a ratchet wheel on the end of said shutter shaft, a ratchetarm and pawl pivotally mounted thereon and spring means maintaining thepawl in engagement with the ratchet wheel, thereby preventing reverserotation of the shutter shaft.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4including motor means for closing the shutter comprises: a. a triggermember for releasing said pawl whereby said shutter shaft will reverserotate to close said shutter; b. an actuating pin for said trigger andoperated by rotation of said motor shaft for automatically triggeringsaid pawl; c. a central button for manually actuating the trigger by anexaminee prior to the expiration of the time period; d. a spring motoron said motor shaft for rotating the same; e. an escapement mechanismfor controlling rotation of the motor shaft under influence of thespring motor; and f. a time indicator mounted on the end of said motorshaft.